Jesus says in the bible:
"Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with them."
- Matthew 18:20
This past weekend was like your typical Christmas weekend (with less than 2 weeks till Xmas) - shopping at the malls for last minute presents, watching the Christmas play/concert/musicals at our local church, wrapping and delivering Christmas presents in preparation for the day we celebrate the birth of Christ (Dec 25)...
But what made this past weekend before Xmas different for me and my buddies- was one of my Christian friends had an AWESOME idea while we were Christmas shopping... It was the coldest weekend of December with sub-zero temperatures dipping into the minus 20 range... and here was their idea...
They recommended that we stop into a local coffee shop, pick up a bunch of cups of hot chocolate, stop into the dollar store, buy some toques and candy canes, and hand them out to the homeless.
I was up for the challenge!
So, we did our shopping, and went out on our quest to find people to hand out hot chocolates, toques, and candy canes to. We also included a little card in each that said "God loves You."
And we prayed that God would lead us to the right people, who needed a smile that day.
We were walking downtown Toronto by Eaton Center. It was a snowy day. And icy cold. Who would be sitting outside begging on the coldest weekend of December???
The first guy we handed out our Xmas stuff to- actually gave it back. It was a guy with a cardboard sign, sitting by a lamppost in the snow. His sign said "Jobless and Overqualified". He said, we should give our toques and candy canes to someone who needed it more... ok, fair enough.
The next person we handed our hot chocolate and toques and candy canes to had a cardboard sign that said "Spare some change please". He had a red beard/mustache and earrings. He was sitting outside by a store, in the shade, but also in the icy cold. I can remember the smile on his face when my friend handed him a hot chocolate. Priceless.
We continued on our journey and came across two homeless girls with a cardboard sign that read "Do Not Judge"... They were in blankets and also, sitting on a few steps outside by the mall. They were SO EXCITED and so appreciative of the hot chocolate and toques and candy canes. Mission Accomplished.
And the final fellow we gave our gifts to, he was outside having a smoke. A man with a long beard, also sitting in a corner, out in the cold. I remember saying "God bless you" to him, And he said "God bless You too."
Even if what me and my friends gave was not much... it was encouraging to know that God could challenge us to do something different in our routines to bless others this Xmas.... and we were willing to take part!
It humbles us, and makes us so thankful that God has blessed us with loving, warm homes... not everyone is in the same place (at this moment in time anyways)... I mean, for people to be begging for change outside on the coldest weekend of December... we don't know what circumstances in their lives would lead them to choose that path...
Either way, we just hope that in our small ways, we could bring the Joy of Christ to others this Xmas season. It really goes to show how friends in the body of Christ can help encourage you to do amazing things for Christ... even if they are simple.
Jesus says in the bible:
"Where two or more are gathered in my name, I am there with them."
May this blog post be an encouragement to you to DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT this Xmas season, and go out of your way to bless others, together with Your Christian friends...
it's simple, easy, and can really bring meaning to the true reason for Christmas.
On another note, we also saw carolers outside of Eaton Center this past weekend singing songs for the homeless and raising funds that way... pretty creative! Hope this can give you some cool ideas on how to bless others too this holiday season.
God bless you!
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